FINAL: Bobcats stun Grizzlies in Missoula

Montana State star quarterback Troy Andersen bursts through a hole in the Montana defense for a nice gain Saturday afternoon at Washington-Grizzly Stadium in Missoula(Photo: Garrett Becker/Montana State Athletics)

It was perhaps the most meaningful timeout in Montana State Bobcat history.

Troy Andersen led a ferocious comeback and the Bobcats recovered a Grizzly fumble at their own 1-yard line in the final seconds as Montana State rallied to defeat Montana 29-25 Saturday in the 118th renewal of the UM-MSU rivalry at jam-packed Washington-Grizzly Stadium in Missoula.

The fumble came one play after it appeared the Grizzlies had won it with a 1-yard touchdown run by Adam Eastwood. But MSU head coach Jeff Choate called timeout moments before the snap. On Montana's next play, Bobcat noseguard Tucker Yates drilled Eastwood in the hole and MSU's Derek Marks, a former Belgrade prep star, recovered the ensuing fumble.

“It was an unbelievable team win and an unbelievable comeback,” said Marks in a postgame TV interview. “We couldn’t be happier. This is a dream ... The celebration is unbelievable. It's the funnest thing.”

A record crowd of 26,508 watched the dramatic game at Washington-Grizzly.

“Quite honestly, just processing this - it’s probably not going to hit me for a while,” said Choate, who is now 3-0 in his MSU career against the Grizzlies. “There’s a lot that happened in that fourth quarter, and some of it seems like a blur.”

The Grizzlies led 22-0 early on before Andersen, the superb sophomore quarterback from Dillon, brought the Bobcats back.

Andersen ran for more than 100 yards and three touchdowns as the Bobcats improved to 7-4 overall, 5-3 in the Big Sky Conference, and beat the Grizzlies for the third year in a row. Montana State, which was ranked 25th in the FCS this week, could well qualify for the national playoffs. The 24-team playoff field will be announced on Sunday.

Montana finished 6-5 and 4-4.

Dalton Sneed threw a pair of touchdown passes and Eastwood ran for a score as the Grizzlies took a 22-7 halftime lead. The Grizzlies had 213 yards in the first half, compared to 154 for the Bobcats.

Montana State scored in the final moments of the first half on a run by Andersen.

“That was huge,” Choate said. “Going in down 22-0 would have been pretty much all uphill sledding the second half.”

“A little bit early we just got out of sorts,” said Andersen, who ran for 107 yards and threw for 158 more. “The moment was a little bit big for us, but we kind of got settled down and started doing our jobs.”

Andersen's second touchdown and subsequent two-point conversion run shaved the Bobcat deficit to 22-15 in the fourth quarter. Montana answered with a 14-play, 58-yard drive that ended with Tim Semenza's 34-yard field goal, which gave the Grizzlies a 10-point edge.

Andersen, who topped the 100-yard rushing mark for a Montana State-record sixth straight game, then led a 75-yard drive that featured his arm. The 225-pounder connected with Travis Jonsen on a 45-yard pass to set up a touchdown that narrowed the deficit to 25-22 with 6:01 to play.

The Bobcats' Grant Collins then forced and recovered a fumble, giving the Cats a short field. Logan Jones took a pitch from Andersen and scored on a 12-yard run with 2:19 to play.

But the Grizzlies weren't done. Sneed led Montana smartly down the field and into the red zone. With 15 seconds left, it appeared Eastwood's run had won it for the Grizzlies.

But the Cats had called timeout.

Montana's second fumble of the day happened on the next play and the Bobcats celebrated.

"Montana was good in the first quarter," Marks said. "We were so happy we could get off the field (in the second half). Our offense played unbelievable. It's a great team win."

Andersen ran for 107 yards. Sneed passed for 354 yards.

"We just had to stay the course," Andersen said of the big comeback. "Stay the course and trust our reads.

"We had to take it one play at a time. There's no 10-point play. So we just had to stay the course."

This is the first time Montana State has owned a three-game winning streak over Montana in more than 30 years. The Bobcats have now won four of their last five at Washington-Griz.

"It feels great," Andersen said.

It didn't feel so good for Grizzly fans, though.

“Good job by them sticking with it and finding a way to get the W,” said Bobby Hauck, in his first year back as head coach of the Grizzlies. “And shame on us for not winning it.

“There’s a lot of ways to not find a way to win, and this is particularly gut-wrenching.”

Said Choate: “I have a ton of respect for the University of Montana and that group of young men and how they played today. And of course I’m extremely proud of my team. We were down 22-0 in a hostile environment. I tell you what, the people of Montana should be proud of both of these teams.”

(Note: Fritz Neighbor of the Associated Press contributed to this report)